The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-10

vi Slll lSO . CdIO Ol4ly army W AlAOOISl
a Waste of Time.
BROOKLYN, Oct. 9.--The audiences at the
Brooklyn Tabernacle this autumn are larger
than at any time during the history of this
church, and greater numbers go away, not
able to get in. Led by cornet and organ,
the congregation sang with great power the
hymn:
The morning light is breaking,
The darkness disappears,
The sons of men are waking
To penitential tears.
The Rev. T. De Witt Talmage. d. D., read
and explained passages of Scripture con-
cerning the dawn of universal righteous
ness. The subject of his sermon was Gun
occupied Fields, and the text from Romans,
XIV, 20: LEST should build upon another
mans foundation DIR. Talmage said:
Stirring reports come from all parts of
America showing what great work the
churches of God are doing, and l congratu-
late them and their pastors. Misapprehen-
sions have been going the rounds, saying
that the outside benevolences of this par
ticular church are neglected, when the fact
is that large sums of money are being
raised in various ways by this church for
all styles of good objects, not always
through the boards of our own denomina-
ton. This church was built by all denomi-
nations of Christians and by many sections
of this land and other lands, and that obli-
cation has led lis to raise money for many
objects not connected with our denomina-
ton, and this accounts for the fact that we
have not regularly contributed TO all the
boards commended. But rejoice in that
ba Hnnn "a = a church a n1aonifippnt
work, and am grateful that we have
received during the year by the confession
of faith in Christ 725 souls, which fact
mention, not in boasting, but in defense of
this church, showing it has been neither
idle nor Inefficient The most of our acces-
sions have been from the outside world, Sc
that, taking the idea of my text, we have
not been building on other peoples founda-
| tionS.
In LAYING out the plan of his missionary
tour, Paul sought out towns and cities
which had not yet been preached to. He
goes to Corinth, a city mentioned for splen-
dor and vice, and Jerusalem, where the
priesthood and the Sanhedrim were ready
to leap with both feet upon the Christian
religion. He feels he has especial work tc
do, and he means to do it. What was the
result. The grandest life of usefulness that
a man ever lived We modern Christian
Paul. We build on others peoples
foundations If we erect a church
we prefer to have it filed with families all
of whom have been pious. Do we gather 6
Sabbath school class, we want good boys
| and girls, hair combed, faces washed, man
neIs attractive. So church III this day i:
apt to be built out of other churches. Some
ministers spend all their time in fishing il
other peoples ponds, and they throw the
fa,sI- q
| Methodist, and throw the line into another
church pond and bring out a Presbyterian
| or there is a religious row in some neighbOr
ing church, and whole school of fish swim
off from that pond, and we take them all il
with one sweep of the net What is gained
| Absolutely nothing for the general cause OF
| Christ. 1t is only as in an army, when q
| regiment is transferred from one division tC
another, from the Tennessee to the Potomac
What strengthens the army is new re
cruits. What | have always desired is that
while we are courteous to those coming
| from other 1ocks, we build our church not
out of other churches, but out of the world
| lest we build on another mans foundation
| The fact is, this is big world. When, in
our schoolboy days we learned the diameter
and circumference of this planet, we did
not learn half. 1t is the latitude and lOngi
tude and diameter and circumference OF
WdflU anu woe anu Sill budJ IlO to Cdl
| calculate. This one spiritual continent OF
wretchedness reaches across all zones, and
| if | were called to give its geographical
| boundary, l would say it is bounded on the
north and south and east and west by the
| great heart of Gods sympathy and love.
! Oh. it is;a great world. Since 6 O'Clock this
| morning sixty thousand eight hundred
persons have been born, and all these mul-
| tiplied populations are to be reached Of the
/ - L,tHNs.
| American cities, we are being
much crowded, and an acre OF
| ground is Of great value, but out West five
| hundred acres is a small farm, and twenty
| thousand acres is no unusual possession
There is vast field here and everywhere
unoccuped, plenty of room more, not build
ing on another mans foundation. We need
as churches to stop bombardlng the old iron
clad sinners that have been proof against
thirty years of Christian assault. Alas for
| that church which lacks the spirit of evan.
gelism, spending ON one chandelier enough
TO light five hundred souls to glory and in one
carved pillar enough to have made a thou
| sand new 'pillars in the house of our God
forever and doing less good than many a
| log cabin meeting house with tallow candles
stuck in wooden sockets, and minister who
has never seen a college, or known the diff
ference between Greek and Choctaw.
| w nebu dS CuuFtiSo W SbJ lhbO pJ M lpdbhD
with the great outside world, and let them
know that none are SO brolIen-healted or
| hardly bestead that will not be welcomed.
"No.n says some fastidious Christian, II
don't like TO be crowded in church. Don't
put any one in my pew" My brother, what
will you do in heavent When great mIl-
titude that no man can number assemblies
they will put fifty in your pew. What are
the select few to-day assembled in the Chris
tian churches compared with the mightier
millions outside of them, 600 in Brook
lyn, but loss than 100000 in the churches!
Many of the churches are like hospital
that should advertise that its patients must
have nothing worse than tpothache or run
rounds" but no broken heads. no crushed
ankles, no fractured thighs Give us for
treatment moderate sinners, velVet-coated
sinners and sinners with gloss on. It is as
though man had farm of :, 900 acres and
put all his work on one acre. He may raise
never so large ears of corn, never so big
heads of wheat, he would remain poor.
The church of God has bestowed its chief
care on one acre, and has raised splendid
men and women in that small inclosure,
but the field is the world. That means
North and South America, Europe, Asia
and Africa, and all the islands OF the
sea. 1t is as though after great battle
there were left $1,000 wounded and dying
on the field, and three surgeons gave all
their time to three patients under their
charge. The Major General comes in and
saws to the doctors: "Come out here and
look at the neerly $1,000 dying for lack of
surgical attendance. "No,n say the three
doctors. standing there tanning their